Before you bunker in Sint Maarten

Specifying the fuel order

A description such as “diesel” leaves too much unresolved for a yacht fuel order. State the required grade and specification, quantity and units, acceptable quantity tolerance and the sulphur requirement for the vessel’s intended operation. The yacht’s technical requirements and applicable rules determine that brief; the location of purchase alone does not.

Include the receiving position and proposed window, with the engineer’s transfer limits and connection details. The manifold is the yacht’s fuel receiving connection. Its side, height, coupling and access affect how a delivery can be arranged, while tank capacity and the agreed rate affect how long the operation may take.

Port St Maarten lists fuel facilities in Great Bay. That establishes a facility, not a product allocation or an available appointment. Route the requirement through Sea Grapes so the proposed delivery can be matched to the berth and the rest of the call.

Agreeing the delivery arrangement

A hose that can reach the yacht is only one part of the arrangement. The delivery position, road or quay access, receiving connection and agreed operating limits need to be compatible. If other work will take place at the same time, it also needs to be accepted under the yacht’s and facility’s procedures.

The two teams should know who controls each side of the transfer, how they will communicate and how either will call for a stop. Use the yacht’s safety management system, or SMS, where applicable: its established procedures for managing operations and risk. The engineer’s tank and valve checks belong in that established procedure.

Allow time for the receiving team to resolve a mismatch before fuel moves. An incorrect connection, unexpected product description or missing document is easier to address while the transfer remains paused than after the yacht has accepted the delivery.

The delivery note and sample

A bunker delivery note records information about the fuel supplied. A representative sample preserves fuel associated with the delivery for examination or testing. Neither substitutes for the other, and a commercial invoice alone should not be assumed to satisfy the vessel’s fuel-documentation requirements.

IMO’s Regulation 18 guidance distinguishes ship obligations from supplier oversight. For vessels required to carry an International Air Pollution Prevention certificate, it describes retention requirements for delivery notes and representative samples. Confirm applicability and the current procedure within the yacht’s flag and compliance arrangements.

Agree sampling, labelling, sealing and custody before the transfer. If the supplied documents or sample arrangements differ from the requirement, record the discrepancy and follow the vessel’s reporting procedure. Simply keeping an unlabelled bottle does not establish which delivery it represents.

Reconciling the delivery

Quantity reconciliation belongs alongside the technical paperwork. Confirm the units and measurement basis used in the order and delivery record, document any disagreement promptly, and retain the information needed for the yacht’s account and operational records.

Build a bunkering brief for Sea Grapes with the fuel specification, receiving limits and berth plan. Where the call is compressed, identify the latest usable delivery window and the dependency on departure. The short-call guide explains how to protect that window without turning every other delivery into a competing priority.